<p>In <a href="pr398-rfk.html">Part I of this article</a>, we saw that Sirhan could not
have shot Kennedy. Indeed, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that Sirhan was
firing blanks. If Sirhan did not shoot Kennedy, who did? Why? And how is it that
Sirhanís own lawyers did not reveal the evidence that he could not have committed the
crime for which he received a death sentence? </p>

<p>Before one considers the above issues, one larger issue stands out. If Sirhan did not
kill Kennedy, how has the cover-up lasted this long? In the end, that question will bring
us closer to the top of the conspiracy than any other. No matter who was involved, if
there were a will to get to the bottom of this crime, the evidence has been available. The
fact that no official body has ever made the effort to honestly examine all the evidence
in this case is nearly as chilling as the original crime itself, and points to a high
level of what can only be termed government involvement. In the history of this country
and particularly the sixties, one entity stands out beyond all others as having the means,
the motive, and the opportunity to orchestrate this crime and continue the cover-up to
this very day. But the evidence will point its own fingers; it remains only for us to
follow wherever the evidence leads.</p>

<h4>Cover-Up Artists</h4>

<p>It has often been said that a successful conspiracy requires not artful planning, but
rather control of the investigation that follows. The investigation was controlled
primarily by a few key LAPD officers and the DA. Despite Congressman Allard
Lowensteinís efforts, no federal investigation of this case has ever taken place. In
other words, a small handful of people were capable of keeping information that would
point to conspirators out of the public eye. The Warren Commissionís conclusions were
subjected to intense scrutiny when their documentation was published. Evidently the LAPD
wanted no such scrutiny, and simply refused to release their files until ordered to do so
in the late í80s.</p>

<p>SUS members predominantly came from military backgrounds.<a href="#1.">1</a> Charles
Higbie, who controlled a good portion of the investigation, had been in the Marine Corps
for five years and in Intelligence in the Marine Corp. Reserve for eight more. Frank
Patchett, the man who turned the Kennedy "head bullet" over to DeWayne Wolfer
after it had taken a trip to Washington with an FBI man, had spent four years in the Navy,
where his specialty was Cryptography. The Navy and Marines figured prominently in the
background of a good many of the SUS investigators. The editor of the SUS Final Report,
however, had spent eight years of active duty with the Air Force, as a Squadron Commander
and Electronics Officer.</p>

<p>Two SUS members were in a unique position within the LAPD to control the investigation
and the determination of witness credibility: Manuel Pena and Hank Hernandez. Pena had
quite the catbird seat. A chart from the LAPD shows that all investigations were funneled
through a process whereby all reports came at some point to him. He then had the sole
authority for "approving" the interviews, and for deciding whether or not to do
a further interview with each and every witness. In other words, if you wanted to control
the flow of the investigation, all you would have to do is control Lt. Manuel Pena. </p>

<p>In a similarly powerful position, Sgt. Enrique "Hank" Hernandez was the <i>sole</i>
polygraph operator for the SUS unit. In other words, whether a witness was lying or
telling the truth was left to the sole discretion of Hernandez. Some people mistakenly
think that a polygraph is an objective determiner of a personís veracity. But a
polygraph operator can alter the machineís sensitivity to make a liar look like a
truth teller, or a truth teller look like a liar. In addition, the manner of the polygraph
operator will do much to assuage or create fear and stress in the person being
polygraphed. In addition, no less than William Colby himself said it is possible to beat
the machine with a few tricks. For these and other reasons, no court in America allows the
results of polygraph tests to be used as evidence. But Hernandezís polygraph results
were given amazing weight in the SUS investigation. Indeed, his tests became the sole
factor in the SUSís determination of the credibility of witnesses. </p>

<p>Because of their prominent roles in the cover-up, the background of Pena and Hernandez
has always been of special interest. Pena has an odd background indeed. His official SUS
information states he served in the Navy during WWII and in the Army during the Korean
War, and was a Counterintelligence officer in France. According to Robert Houghton, he
"spoke French and Spanish, and had connections with various intelligence agencies in
several countries."<a href="#2.">2</a> Pena also served the CIA for a long time.
Penaís brother told the TV newsman Stan Bohrman that Manny was proud of his service
to the CIA. In 1967, Pena "retired" from the LAPD, leaving to join AID, the
agency long since acknowledged as having provided the CIA cover for political operations
in foreign countries. Roger LeJeunesse, an FBI agent who had been involved in the RFK
assassination investigation, told William Turner that Pena had performed special
assignments for the CIA for more than ten years. LaJeunesse added that Pena had gone to a
"special training unit" of the CIAís in Virginia. On some assignments Pena
worked with Dan Mitrione, the CIA man assassinated by rebels in Uruguay for his role in
teaching torture to the police forces there. After his retirement from the LAPD (and a
very public farewell dinner) in November of 1967, Pena inexplicably returned to the LAPD
in 1968. <a href="#3.">3</a></p>

<p>Hernandez had also worked with AID. During his session with Sandy Serrano, he told her
that he had once been called to Vietnam, South America and Europe to perform polygraph
tests. He also claimed he had been called to administer a polygraph to the dictator of
Venezuela back when President Betancourt came to power. </p>

<p>One of Hernandezís neighbors related to <i>Probe</i> how Hernandez used to live in
a modest home in the Monterey Park area, a solidly middle-class neighborhood. But within a
short time after the assassination, Hernandez had moved to a place that has a higher
income per capita then Beverly Hills: San Marino. He came into possession of a security
firm and handled large accounts for the government.</p>